Environmental disasters in January 2020

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - The first month of the decade saw numerous environmental disasters that have affected climate change and vice versa, including bushfires in Australia, flash floods in Indonesia, heavy snow in Pakistan and volcanic eruption in the Philippines.

Here is a look at the environmental disasters that took place in January.

Jan. 1:

- Australian bushfires continue in the new year with 20 dead, so far, including three volunteer firefighters. Around 6 million hectares (14.8 million acres) burned at the beginning of 2020.

- Flash floods in Jakarta, Indonesia in early hours of first day of 2020 after overnight rain dumps nearly 400 millimeters of rain, leaving at least 66 dead, and displacing 60,000 in the worst flooding in the area since 2007.

Jan. 2:

- State of emergency is declared for Australian state of Victoria because of bushfires in the south.

Jan. 3:

- UK announces highest temperatures for February, July, and provisionally December 2019 in year of multiple records, concluding the “record-breaking” decade.

Jan. 7:

- National Emergency Operations Center reports that more than 300 families have been affected by floods in Huanuco Department in Peru since the start of year.

Jan. 14:

- Taal Volcano in the Philippines affects more than 30,000 people while authorities declared state of calamity in Batangas province.

- At least 41 people are killed in two days in Pakistan due to heavy snow.

- More than 5,000 camels are killed by Australian authorities in what they called “urgent response to threats” posed by rising number of feral camels due to drought.

Jan. 17:

- Hundreds of thousands of native fish are estimated to have died in northern New South Wales, Australia, as rains washed ash and sludge from bushfires into Macleay River.

- Evacuation centers are opened, schools are closed and businesses are asked to close earlier, as Cyclone Tino hits Fiji’s second-largest island Vanua Levu, for the second time in three weeks.

Jan. 20:

- Taal Volcano in the Philippines affects more than 200,000; authorities declare state of calamity in Batangas, Cavite provinces.

Jan. 23:

- Storm Gloria leaves at least 13 dead, four missing after hitting parts of Spain, leads to evacuation of hundreds in southwest France in floods.

Jan. 27:

- Deadly heavy rain and floods kill thousands of people, displace more than 30,000 others in southeast Brazil.

Jan. 28:

- Since its most recent major eruption earlier this month, authorities say Taal Volcano affected nearly 400,000 in the Philippines.

Jan. 29:

- Australian State of Emergency service issues warning for country’s south to prepare for heatwave followed by thunderstorm.

Jan. 31:

- Authorities declared a state of emergency in Australian Capital Territory (ACT) as massive bushfires rage south of Canberra.